Providing efficient routing of an operations, administration and maintenance (oam) frame received at a port of an ethernet switch

ABSTRACT

A system for efficient routing of an OAM) frame in an Ethernet switch receives an OAM frame at a first port; building a first classification key dependent on an OAM frame header; classifies in a context of the first port to create a first classification; resolves action dependent on the first classification; modifies the first classification key to create a second classification key; classifies the frame in a context of the second port to create a second classification; sends the second classification key to an OAM engine coupled to the Ethernet switch for modification into a third classification key; receives the third classification key from the OAM engine; modifies the third classification key into a final classification key; modifies the header of the OAM frame with the final classification key; and sends the modified OAM frame to a switching fabric of the Ethernet switch.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to data networks, and in particularrouting Ethernet frames.

BACKGROUND

Most data networks implement routing protocols derived from standardbodies such as IEEE, IETF and ITU. Although these protocols areeffective, they are complex and define many discrete steps forprocessing an Ethernet frame/IP packet by a router. Once received,classification, action resolution, header modification, etc. occursseveral times to a single Ethernet frame before it finally leaves therouter and is transmitted to the next network element. Such protocolsare resource intensive and can influence network performance, such aslatency. These protocols are implemented either in software or in highlogic block count FPGAs or resource intensive ASICs. It would be idealto determine a method of implementing routing protocols that overcomessome of the problems found in the prior art.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment, a system and method are provided forefficient routing of an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM)frame received at a first port and terminating on a second port of anEthernet switch by receiving an OAM frame at a first port; building afirst classification key dependent on an OAM frame header; classifyingin a context of the first port to create a first classification;resolving action dependent on the first classification; modifying thefirst classification key to create a second classification key;classifying the frame in a context of the second port to create a secondclassification; sending the second classification key to an OAM enginecoupled to the Ethernet switch for modification into a thirdclassification key; receiving the third classification key from the OAMengine; modifying the third classification key into a finalclassification key; modifying the header of the OAM frame with the finalclassification key; and sending the modified OAM frame to a switchingfabric of the Ethernet switch. One implementation, includes storing areceived OAM frame in a temporary frame buffer, and retrieving thestored OAM frame for use in the modifying of the OAM frame with thefinal classification key; extracting the OAM frame header from areceived OAM frame, and using the extracted OAM frame header in thebuilding of the first classification key; and determining whether areceived frame is to be discarded after the creation of the firstclassification, and if the answer is negative, determining whether aloopback of the received frame is required on the first port, and ifsuch a loopback is required, sending the first classification key to theOAM engine. It is preferred that the second, third and finalclassification keys are created only if it is determined that a loopbackis not required on the first port.

The foregoing and additional aspects and embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art inview of the detailed description of various embodiments and/or aspects,which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description ofwhich is provided next.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the disclosure will becomeapparent upon reading the following detailed description and uponreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the path of an OAM frame in the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the components of a device receiving an OAMframe in the prior art.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the input function for a port in prior artdevice.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the output function for a port in prior artdevice.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a three-stage classifier.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the path of an OAM frame using thethree-stage classifier embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an n-stage classifier.

While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments or implementations have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. It should be understood, however, that the disclosure is notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, thedisclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of an invention as defined by theappended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, the term Ethernet switch also refers to arouter, bridge and any other Ethernet device with more than one portthat has the capability to receive an Ethernet packet on one port andtransmitting it on another port.

Shown in FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a data network 120 comprisingtwo Ethernet switches 100 and 102, in communication one with the othervia data network 120. Ethernet switches 100 and 102 comprise in thisexample n communication interfaces, also known as ports, 101.1, 101.2, .. . 101.n and 103.1, 103.2, . . . 103.n respectively. In this particularexample, network 120 is configured such that port 101.2 of Ethernetswitch 100 is coupled to port 103.1 of Ethernet switch 102. Operations,administration and maintenance (OAM) features supported by networkequipment is used as a means for fault detection and equipment testing.In this example, a test set 104 is coupled to port 101.1 and transmitsEthernet frames comprising OAM messages for turning on OAM featuressupported by the Ethernet switches 100, 102. For simplification,Ethernet frames comprising OAM messages are referred to hereingenerically as OAM frames.

The data path 105 shows the path of OAM frames transmitted by test set104 for performing a terminal loopback on Ethernet switch 102 port #2103.2. The path 105 of an OAM frame is as follows: received by port101.1, then to port 101.2 for transmission into the network 120 to bereceived by port 103.1 and sent to port 103.2 for processing as aloopback OAM which then turns around the OAM frame back to port 103.1.The OAM frame is transmitted via the network 120 to Ethernet switch 100and received by 101.2, routed to 101.1 to be transmitted back to thetest set 104.

Referring to FIG. 2, shown is a simplified block diagram of Ethernetswitch 102 and the path 105 of the OAM frame. Each port 103.1, 103.2 . .. 103.n has a transmitter (Tx) 116.1, 116.2, . . . 116.n, 116.1, 116.2,. . . 116.n and receiver (Rx) 114.1, 114.2, . . . 114-n pair fortransmitting data to, and receiving data from the network 120. The portsmay comprise optical transmitters and receivers. Alternatively, theports may comprise electrical transmitters and receivers. Each port alsocomprises a MAC layer function 201.1, 201.2 . . . 201.n, and inputfunction 203.1, 203.2 . . . 203.n and an output function 213.1, 213.2 .. . 213.n.

The OAM frame is processed by each functional block along the path 105.In this example, the OAM frame is received by a receiver 114.1 of port103.1 and sent for processing at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer201.1 which implements standard MAC receive (RX) and transmit processing(TX).

The MAC layer 201.1 transmits the OAM frame to an input function 203.1.The input function 203.1 processes the frame and sends it to thedestination port output function 213.2. The output function 213.2identifies the frame as an OAM frame and transmits it to the OAM engine205 via a switching fabric 204. If the OAM frame is a terminal loopbackrequest for port 2 103.2, the OAM engine 205 transmits the OAM frame toport #2 input function 203.2 via the switching fabric 204. The inputfunction 203.2 performs the required processing for an OAM loopbackframe. The OAM frame is then switched by the switching fabric 204 to theoutput function of port #1 213.1, and sends back to output function213.1 of port #1 103.1 via the input function 203.2 then the switchingfabric 204 and the OAM engine. The OAM frame is then transmitted backonto path 105 to test set 104 (not shown).

In this example, a terminal OAM loopback requires that the OAM frame istransmitted to OAM engine 205 twice and through the switching fabric 204four times, consuming the limited bandwidth and impacting capacity orrequiring costly overdesign.

Referring to FIG. 3, shown is a simplified block diagram of a prior artinput function 203.1, 203.2 . . . 203.n processing of an OAM frame. TheOAM frame is received from the MAC 201.1 and stored in temporary framebuffer 304. Block 300 extracts the OAM frame header to build aclassification key by filling key structure fields such as MAC sourceand destination addresses, ITU-T Y.1731, TPID, VID, Ethertype, IP sourceand destination addresses, etc. Block 302 classifies the OAM frame andresolves the action that should be performed, for example, based on userconfiguration of the switch or a classification map. Block 303 modifiesthe originally received frame stored in temporary frame buffer 304 basedon the classification and action resolution of 302. In this example, theframe is an OAM frame and the OAM frame is modified such that when it isreceived by the switch fabric 204 it is routed to OAM engine 205. Asblock 203.1 is on an ingress port, the processing of the OAM framewithin 203.1 is done in the context of an ingress port.

Referring to FIG. 4, shown is a simplified block diagram of the priorart output function 213.1, 213.2 . . . 213.n processing the OAM frametransmitted from the OAM engine 205, through switching fabric 204. TheOAM frame is received from the switching fabric 204 and stored intemporary frame buffer 308. Block 305 extracts the OAM frame header tobuild a classification key by filling key structure fields such as MACsource and destination addresses, ITU-T Y.1731, TPID, VID, Ethertype, IPsource and destination addresses, etc. Block 306 classifies the OAMframe and resolves the action that should be performed based on the userconfiguration of the switch. Block 307 modifies the originally receivedframe stored in temporary frame buffer 308 based on the classificationand action resolution of block 306.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a routine that can be implemented in aprocessor configured to process an OAM frame by an embodiment referredto as a three-stage classifier, which is implemented in the inputfunction 203.1, 203.2 . . . 203.n of a port. To simplify the descriptionof this embodiment, it is assumed that an OAM frame is received at afirst port 114.1 and the OAM frame is switched to either be transmittedon a second port 116.2 or to be loopback by the output function of thesecond port 213.2. In this case, the three-stage classifierfunctionality is executed only by the input function of the first port203.1.

When the OAM frame is received at the first port 114.1 input function203.1 from the MAC 201.1 at step 500, it is copied to a temporary framebuffer 560 and the frame header is extracted at step 501. A firstclassification key is built at step 506 based on the frame header byfilling key structure fields such as MAC source and destinationaddresses, ITU-T Y.1731, TPID, VID, Ethertype, IP source and destinationaddresses, etc.

The input function 203.1 of the first port performs a firstclassification at step 507, and the actions derived from the firstclassification are resolved. For example, based on user configuration ofthe switch or a classification map. Step 520 determines whether todiscard the incoming frame. If “yes,” the incoming frame is discarded atstep 521 with no further processing, and if “no,” step 525 determineswhether a loopback is required on this port. In this first stage, theclassification is done in the context of the input function 203.1 ofport #1.

If step 525 determines the OAM frame is a loopback to be terminated onthe same port (in this example port #1), then only the firstclassification key is sent to the OAM engine at step 563. The OAM enginemodifies the first classification key and performs the required actionsfor an OAM frame. The key is modified by the OAM engine at step 565 toproduce a final classification key and returned to the input function ofthe first port. When the input function of the first port 203.1 receivesthe final classification key from the OAM engine at step 567, itretrieves the frame from the temporary buffer 560 and modifies theheader based on the final classification key at step 505. The frame isthen sent to the output port function of the first port 213.1 via theswitching fabric 204 at step 550.

If the OAM frame is destined for a different port (in this example thesecond port 114.2) at step 525, the input function of the first port203.1 modifies the first classification key at step 502 to create asecond classification key as if it is done by the output function of thesecond port. The frame is then classified by the input function of thefirst port 203.1 in the context of the second port to create a secondclassification at step 503. In this case, the first port is masqueradingthe modification and classification as if it is performed by the secondport.

The input function of the first port checks if the OAM frame is aloopback for another port of this node at step 504. If not, then thesecond classification key is the final classification key, and it isapplied to the frame that is retrieved from the temporary buffer 650 atstep 505. The frame is then sent to the output port function of thefirst port 213.1 via the switching fabric 204 at step 550.

If step 504 determines that the OAM frame is a loopback for another portof this node, then only the second classification key is sent to the OAMengine at step 530. The OAM engine modifies the second classificationkey and resolves the required actions for an OAM frame. The secondclassification key is modified by the OAM engine at step 512 to create athird classification key and returned to the input function of the firstport. When the input function of the first port 203.1 receives the thirdclassification key from the OAM engine at step 535, it performsclassification in the context of the second port at step 513. Then,actions are resolved, based on user configuration of the switch or aclassification map, which may include discarding the frame at step 520,in which case no more processing is done at step 521. The thirdclassification key is modified again at step 514 to create a finalclassification key, and the input function of the first port retrievesthe frame from the temporary buffer 560 to modify the header based onthe final classification key at step 505. The frame is then sent to theoutput port function of the first port 213.1 via the switching fabric204 at step 550.

In this embodiment, the OAM frame is not sent to the OAM engine 205, butonly the key which is much smaller and requires much less bandwidth fromthe switching fabric.

FIG. 6 shows the path 605 of the OAM frame in a node implementing theembodiment described herein. In this example, the three-stage classifier601.1, 601.2 . . . 601.n is implemented in the input function of eachport 203.1, 203.2 . . . 203.n which reduces the usage of the switchingfabric 204 by a factor of 2. Only a key 650 (generally much smaller thanthe OAM frame) is sent at step 530 from the three-stage classifierfunction 601 to the OAM engine 205 and back. Using this embodiment, thefirst port 114.1 masquerades the loopback function of the second port114.2, without requiring four processing of the OAM frame by theswitching fabric. The OAM frame remains local to the first port.

Optionally there is a distributed knowledge of the port status, suchthat the first port only performs the loopback on behalf of the secondport if it is known that the second port is available and not in afailure or out-of-service mode.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment, based on the same flow chart of FIG. 5.The embodiment performs n-stages of classification by resolving multipleloopback. The difference in this case, is that when the key is receivedfrom the OAM engine at step 535, another stage of classification isperformed at step 507.

While particular implementations and applications of the presentdisclosure have been illustrated and described, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure is not limited to the precise constructionand compositions disclosed herein and that various modifications,changes, and variations can be apparent from the foregoing descriptionswithout departing from the spirit and scope of an invention as definedin the appended claims.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A method for efficient routing of an Operations,Administration and Maintenance (OAM) frame received at a first port andterminating on a second port of an Ethernet switch in a network, saidmethod comprising: receiving the OAM frame at the first port;classifying the OAM frame in a context of the first port to create afirst classification key; modifying said first classification key tocreate a final classification key; modifying said header of said OAMframe based on said final classification key; transmitting said modifiedOAM frame to said network via said second port.
 12. The method of claim11, further comprising discarding the OAM frame based on one or moreconfiguration of the switch.
 13. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising determining that the received OAM frame is destined foranother node via the second port and modifying the first classificationkey to create a second classification key, wherein the secondclassification key appears to have been created by the output functionof the second port and using the second classification key as the finalclassification key.
 14. A system for efficient routing of an Operations,Administration and Maintenance (OAM) frame received at a first port andterminating on a second port of an Ethernet switch in a network, saidsystem comprises program code stored in memory and executed by aprocessor to: receive the OAM frame at the first port; classify the OAMframe in a context of the first port to create a first classificationkey; modify said first classification key to create a finalclassification key; modify said header of said OAM frame based on saidfinal classification key; transmit said modified OAM frame to saidnetwork via said second port.
 15. The system of claim 14, furthercomprising program code stored in memory and executed by a processor todiscard the frame based on one or more configuration of the switch. 16.The system of claim 14, further comprising program code stored in memoryand executed by a processor to determine that the received OAM frame isdestined for another node via the second port and modifying the firstclassification key to create a second classification key, wherein thesecond classification key appears to have been created by the outputfunction of the second port and using the second classification key asthe final classification key.